I am thankful for being able to live here in Murphy

Good afternoon.

Yesterday, I spent almost all day in town, talking to business owners I already knew, meeting new ones, and spreading the word about Murphy Connections and Murphy Gold.

As the day progressed, I was reminded, all over again, how much I love living here and how much I appreciate the people who have lived here all their lives and others, like me, who have chosen to move here.

Murphy isn't perfect, but it's the best place I've ever lived.

Have you ever noticed how clean the town is? Someone has to work at that and I thank them for it.

We recently had a visit from someone who lives out of town and plans to move to Murphy, and she was telling us that even the alleys are clean and unlittered. She mentioned the "yellow brick road" alley as an example. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of telling that story to the lady who had the alley painted and who recently hired someone to clean the alley, again.

I was happy to stop by and tell one shop owner that she had been recommended by another one and that I'd published that recommendation on Murphy Gold and a couple of other sites.

I spent some time talking to George and Muffy Kerber about what they're doing at ShoeBooties Cafe and some of the plans they have for the future. They were telling me that Wednesday's Trivia game was done for the year, but they would be starting it back up the second week in January.

I enjoyed talking to Ron Jenkins at Appalachian Outfitters and took some more photos that I'll be publishing soon on Murphy Gold. While I was there, I had the pleasure of meeting Eddie Sylvester, their bicycle technician. Earlier in the week I spent some time talking to Kathryn Jenkins about some of the products they offer. She introduced me to Gene, their fishing expert. I don't know if I've met everyone who works there, yet, but I'm enjoying it.

I enjoyed talking to Bill Grove for a few minutes when I saw him come out of the Henn Theatre and walk down the sidewalk.

David Hilton and I had a pleasant conversation for a few minutes in his real estate office.

Last night, I went to the Murphy Christmas Tree Lighting and watched the dancers, listened to the kids singing (although the music was louder than they were part of the time), and felt the first feelings of the approaching holidays. That was enhanced when a few of my friends wished me a Happy Thanksgiving.

I enjoyed seeing Dena, Stacey and Katie at the celebration and we enjoyed talking to Audrey and Tom, too. As I was leaving, I had the pleasure of seeing my friend David Sumpter and his family.

Today, I woke up thinking about Thanksgiving.

I'm thankful for a lot of things, and close to the top of the list is that I'm thankful to live in a small town where people are friendly, the crowds are small, and I don't feel like I want to escape and go somewhere else (as I did when I lived in Atlanta many years ago).

A supportive and loving family and good friends is at the top the list and I am grateful for all of them.

2009 has been a hard year for many of us, but there are lots of things to celebrate and for which to be thankful.

I hope each of you has a very Happy Thanksgiving this year. Spend some time thinking about all the things you have to be grateful for. Give your friends and family a big hug.

JD